Oss (The Netherlands)

Noord-Brabant province

Last modified: 2018-12-15 by rob raeside
Keywords: oss | ox |
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Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net
adopted 2 Jan 2003; own design of the municipality

• Oss new flag
• Oss new Coat of Arms
• Oss municipality
• Oss Coat of Arms
• Oss (former municipality)
• Oss old Coat of Arms
• Berghem
• Berghem Coat of Arms
• Megen, Haren en Macharen
• Megen, Haren en Macharen Coat of Arms

• Herpen
• Ravenstein

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• North Brabant Province - The municipalities.
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Oss new flag

The merger of the former municipalities of Oss and Ravenstein resulted into the new municipality of Oss on 1 Jan 2003.
This municipality now consists of 9 former municipalities:
1. Oss, formed in 1994 by the merger of Berghem, Megen c.a., and Oss.
Originally Oss consisted of the former "Freedom". Until 1795 this was in the Meierij van 's-Hertogenbosch, quarter of Maassland.
2. Berghem, formed from the territory of the former Statendorp, in the same quarter of the Meierij.
3-5. Megen, formed in 1820 from the former municipalities of Megen, Haren and Macharen, which formed together the county of Megen until 1795.
6-9. Ravenstein, formed in 1941 by the inclusion of its territory of the former municipality of Herpen. Earlier, in 1923, the three former municipalities of Deursen en Dennenburg, Dieden, and Demen en Langel, as well as Huisseling en Neerloon joined Ravenstein. The town of Ravenstein and the villages of Demen, Dennenburg, Deursen, Huisseling and Langel belonged till 1795 to the Land of Ravenstein. Dieden was until then a village of Gelre, and Neerloon belonged to the Land of Cuijck.

The aldermen of the Freedom of Oss used a seal with an ox under some branches; later the branches were stylized to a tree. The historical arms of os was green with a silver ox. The municipality used from 1817 till 1994 the ox under a tree on a green base, in the national colors of gold on blue. The flag, which was adopted in 1955, used these colors.

On 23 Nov 1994 a new coat of arms was granted to Oss: here was a silver ox on a geen field. A silver chief referred to Megen, and the mitre in that chied to Berghem. An antique count's crown reminded of the former county of Megen.

A new flag was adopted 2 Jan 1994 by municipal decision: quartered over 1/3 of flaglength of green, yellow, blue, and white, with on green in white the contours of a facing "emptied" ox's head.

Source: Willem van Ham: "Een leeg vak en vier lange banen in Oss", in: Vexilla Nostra 244, 2005.
Jarig Bakker, 9 May 2005

Oss new Coat of Arms

Description: vert and ox argent; de shield surmounted by a crown or of nine pearls.

Oss municipality

Oss is a merger of the former municipalities of Oss, Berghem and Megen, Haren en Macharen (also known as Megen c.a.), and part of Heesch. (1 Jan 1994). Number of inhabitants (1 Jan 2003): 76.233; area: 104,40 km². Oss consists now of Oss (seat), Berghem, Megen, Haren, and Macharen. Since 1 Jan 2003 Ravenstein (8.466 inh, 42,68 km²) is part of Oss, with the small town of Ravenstein, and the villages Demen, Dennenburg, Deursen, Dieden, Herpen, Huisseling, Keent, Koolwijk, Neerlangel, Neerloon, Overlangel.
Jarig Bakker, 23 May 2003

Oss Coat of Arms

Oss (former municipality

Oss old Coat of Arms

Berghem (former municipality

Berghem Coat of Arms

Megen, Haren en Macharen (former municipality

The small town of Megen on the Maas river, together with the villages of Haren and Macharen formed an independent county until 1800; it was sold then for 3.000.000 Dutch Guilders to the Bataafsche Republiek (as the Netherlands were called then). In 1810 Napoleon Bonaparte decided that Megen, Haren and Macharen had to form one municipality. When the French left the Netherlands in 1814 the county definitely ceased to exist.

Megen, Haren en Macharen Coat of Arms